Reducing Uncertainty and Improving Performance with BIM

In a recent report, McGraw Hill Construction discusses the top causes of uncertainty in construction projects and their effects on the schedule and cost of the projects. Once the top causes were identified, the report dives into ways an entire team from the owner to the architects and the contractors can improve performance.

A theme throughout the list of mitigation tactics was increased collaboration among the different companies involved in the project including the need for more integration between design and build parties during both design and construction all the way and the use of BIM by all members of the project team instead of just by a single firm.

In addition, the majority of the benefits of using BIM relate to the increased collaboration, reducing uncertainty and ultimately improving the overall project. Below are some of the findings from the study (page 49):

Four out of the top six BIM benefits reported by contractors are related to reducing uncertainty:

Reduced errors and omissions in construction documents;

Improved collaboration with owners and design firms;

Reduced rework; and

Better cost control/predictability

The top three preconstruction BIM activities help reduce uncertainty including:

Multi-trade coordination;

Visualization of design intent; and

Modeling for constructability evaluation.

The top three construction phase BIM activities also help address uncertainty including:

Model-driven layout in the field;

Model-driven prefabrication; and

Status/progress monitoring.

In addition, the study cites that from 2009-2012, BIM led to 40 percent fewer claims and litigation and owners are seeing the difference. 93% of project owners who use BIM on their projects reported high satisfaction with the project quality versus non-BIM owners.